City To Leave Jay Road Property In Rural Reserve

By Thomas George

In a move that elated some residents and disappointed others, the City of Boulder Planning Board and City Council both denied a request to consider three parcels along Jay Road in Gunbarrel for eventual annexation into the city.

With both boards voting unanimously, the parcels at the intersection of Jay and Spine Roads were left off a list of potential changes to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan. As a result, the properties will keep their current Rural Reserve designation and may not be developed as the landowners had hoped.

In their request, the owners of the three parcels had proposed to build affordable residences on approximately 17 acres of the land and to donate 14 acres to Boulder-area nonprofit organizations. Four acres were to remain with the existing Jehovah’s Witness church.

Though council and planning board members commented on the plight of nonprofit organizations seeking property in Boulder, and on the need for affordable housing, they said the Jay Road proposal did not “represent a significant community need that cannot be met within the existing service area.”

Of 10 similar proposals to reclassify land in the city’s greenbelt, only one, at Jay Road and 28th Street, was given the nod for further study.

Many area residents hailed the city’s decision as a victory. Numerous Orchard Creek residents attended a Dec. 2 public hearing to protest new development on rural lands near their neighborhood. Several speakers urged the city to bear in mind the birds and mammals that frequent the property, citing foxes, coyotes, eagles, hawks and falcons as visitors there.

Richard Luna, who owns one of the parcels, took a different view. “I think it’s unfortunate,” he said of the city’s decision. Luna said Boulder has a large unmet need for affordable housing, and has not found a solution within the city’s boundaries. “We’re not a sustainable town when we can’t house the people that work here,” said Luna.

Luna also said the concerns of his Orchard Creek neighbors were ironic, as it was the building of that development which forced large numbers of prairie dogs onto his property, decreasing its agricultural value and attracting the predators seen by environmentalists.

Early in 2005, the city’s list of potential changes to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan will be passed along to the Boulder County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners for approval. The county boards can also add parcels to be evaluated for the city’s service area, but are not likely to recommend land already rejected by the city.

For more information on the 2005 update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, contact the City of Boulder’s Office of Planning and Development at 303-441-1880 or the Boulder County Land Use department at 303-441-3930.

On the Web, visit the City of Boulder at www.ci.boulder.co.us or Boulder County at www.co.boulder.co.us.

Happy New Year From The Courier

The Left Hand Valley Courier wishes all our readers a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.

Front Row (l to r) Vicki Maurer, Claire Chase, Tom George, Allison Forke, Mandy Sutyak, Anne Dyni, Julia Vandenberg, Mary Wolbach Lopert, Gay Waterbury, Marge Mercurio Smith Middle Row (l to r) Louise Alderson, Karen Copperberg, Biff Warren Top Row (l to r) Selene Hall, Alice Munford

Photo by Hsun Chen

Photographers Receive January Left Hand Laurel

By Bruce Warren

“Dear Coach,

Enclosed please find 23 CD-ROM’s containing a total of 489 images of your final game this year, presented to your team in the spirit of sportsmanship and goodwill. Congratulations on a successful season.

Very truly yours,

The Niwot Picture Project

Lucky L. Navarro, Niwot 275 lbs.

Manny Cano, Niwot 140 lbs. and

Edward T. Navarro.”

Letters like the one above are generated weekly by Ed Navarro, a resident of South Longmont, his son, Lucky (a heavyweight wrestler for Niwot High and his godson, Manny Cano (a 140 lb. wrestler for Niwot).

Navarro was looking for something he and his son, Lucky, could do together. So they began taking photos of Tony Cano, a freshman football player for Niwot in the fall of 2003. Tony Cano is the younger brother of Ed’s godson, Manny Cano, a wrestler at Niwot. They ended up with 2,600 images on 80 CD ROM’s that season.

“It started as a good way to spend time with my kid,” he recalled. Thirty thousand images later, the photography had evolved into the Niwot Picture Project, involving Ed, Lucky, daughter Emily’s boyfriend, Sean Lebsock, and Manny Cano.

At press time, the Niwot Picture Project had taken a total of 124,378 images, including 47,679 images over two football seasons. “The actual number of photos kept is much less after initial editing and final editing,” Ed explained.

During the day, Ed is an attorney in Longmont, with a practice emphasizing bankruptcy law, criminal defense and domestic relations. But his appointment book also contains the schedule of events to be covered each week by him and his crew.

Each of the photographers is assigned a game or match to cover, including varsity, JV, “C” team and freshman contests. The Niwot images are sorted by player, then burned onto CD’s. The CD’s are then presented to the players with a note from the Niwot Picture Project.

Thomas Bauer, NHS first baseman, was one of the recipients. His father, Ron Bauer, was very appreciative. “Thomas got a baseball CD and his name is right on the photos,” Bauer said.

But Ed doesn’t stop there. He also compiles a set of images of the opponent, burns them onto CD’s, and sends them to the opposing team. He always notes, “The pictures were taken by amateur photographers, but hopefully are worth looking at and will serve as a memento of this season.”

“We never charge anyone,” Ed noted. He laughs, “It’s better than nothing, and the price is right.”

He often gets a thank you note after sending the CD’s. “We sent one to the Greeley Central baseball team last spring. We got a nice card signed by the coach and players, which was very touching because it included their catcher who drowned after the season ended.”

During the baseball season, the Niwot Picture Project generated 275 CD’s of Niwot’s varsity team, containing 5,842 images. The project also produced 50 CD’s of Niwot’s varsity girls soccer team, containing 1,173 images. “We try to get every team,” Ed noted. “We got a couple of tennis matches and a couple soccer games this fall in addition to the football games. I have 2500 CD ROMS stacked up in my living room.”

This winter often finds Ed photographing the wrestling matches, where his godson, Manny Cano, wrestles at 140 pounds, and his son, Lucky Navarro, wrestles at 275 pounds.

Lucky was also part of the Niwot football team that made it to the final four in the state playoffs this fall. As of mid-December, Navarro had mailed or delivered 1,524 CD ROMS from the football season, including 1,248 CD-ROMS given to Niwot Varsity and JV players. He has another 300 ready for the freshmen. He has already sent 276 CD-ROMS to Niwot opponents, and anticipates distributing another 720 CD-ROMS to opponents during the winter break.

“I try to focus on the kids and their families,” Ed noted. “I have a special interest in the Hispanic kids.” He makes sure all of the players, home team and visitors, have a record of their participation which will last them a lifetime.

Lori Lindemann, whose son Riley also wrestles for Niwot, spoke of the entire Navarro family, including Ed’s wife, Trudy. “They are an amazing family. They are so supportive of all of the kids who wrestle,” she said. Last winter, Navarro produced 9,454 images of Niwot wrestlers on 540 CD ROM’s. He also produced 502 CD ROM’s of Niwot’s opponents and mailed them to the schools.

Ed has even been known to photograph contests which don’t involve Niwot teams. “We photographed a Faith Baptist football game because Tim [Naiman] is on the team.” Naiman attends Faith Baptist, but wrestles for Niwot since Faith Baptist does not have a team.

For their unselfish support of high school athletes, and their demonstration of sportsmanship and good will toward all opponents, the January Left Hand Laurel is presented to Ed Navarro, Lucky Navarro, Manny Cano and Sean Lebsock of The Niwot Picture Project.

Photo courtesy of Ed Navarro

Ed Navarro, Manny Cano and Lucky Navarro of The Niwot Picture Project

RMCC Expansion Tabled Indefinitely

By Claire Chase

A Dec. 2 hearing before Boulder County Commissioners regarding planned expansion of the Rocky Mountain Christian Church (RMCC) was unexpectedly cancelled the day before the hearing. The matter has been “tabled indefinitely” according to county officials.

Boulder County Land Use (BCLU) staff planner Todd Tucker said, “The church was concerned about the staff report and felt that there was insufficient time to address those concerns before the hearing. They have opted to table the hearing indefinitely. As I understand it, they will come back sometime next year, after they have a chance to clarify their concerns. We will provide adequate notice prior to that hearing.”

When reached for comment, Rick Thielen, business administrator for RMCC, said that the tabling of the hearing was at the request of the church. “We are disturbed and have a fundamental disagreement with the characterization of our project by BCLU staff,” said Thielen. “We are taking some time to consider all of our options before we move forward.”

The Courier will keep the public apprised of further developments in the RMCC expansion proposal.

For dates and times of upcoming hearings or minutes from previous meetings, see the Boulder County Commissioners Home Page at www.co.boulder.co.us/bocc.

Allison Forke Named Advertising Director

The Left Hand Valley Courier is pleased to announce that Allison Forke has been named the new advertising director. A five-year resident of Niwot, Forke has been an ad rep for the Courier for the past three years. Forke graduated from the University of Idaho at Moscow with a degree in advertising and public relations, and worked in Cody, Wyo. and Lincoln, Neb. selling advertising in radio.

She brings a unique and fresh point of view to her job. The entire Courier staff looks forward to working with her.

Photo by Mary Wolbach Lopert

Allison Forke is the Courier’s new advertising director.

To Vicinity And Beyond

Been There, Going Here

By Donna Currie

What’s It All About, Vicinity?

Vicinity And Beyond was born of the notion that there are things all around us that we’ve never noticed in our hectic travels from here to there and back again. Or maybe we’ve noticed them, but we’ve never had the time to look in and see what they’re really about. Or, they’re a little off the beaten path, and we’ve never had the time to take that turnoff to see where it goes.

Vicinity does the peeking and poking and prodding for you, looking for those interesting things. Maybe when you have time, you’ll look a little closer at what Vicinity has uncovered for you.

In 2004, Vicinity visited Your Butcher Frank, The Brooklyn Deli at Bleu Sun, the Downtown Farmer’s Market in Longmont, Haystack Mountain Goat Farm and its new creamery, St. Vrain Restaurant Supply, Marco’s Hot Dogs, several shops in Prospect, and Gleason’s Fine Woolies.

It was an interesting voyage, but there’s more to come. So far, plans for this year include some really big cats, something crafty and things you can eat.

I’m hoping that at least once in a while, you’ll read something in Vicinity and say to yourself, “Oh! I didn’t know that!” Then I’ve done my job.

“Only In Colorado!”

Every now and then, I run across something that reminds me of how different my new home here in Colorado is from my old home near Chicago, where I grew up. Colorado tends to be more laid back, friendlier and much closer to livestock.

The latest “only in Colorado” moment came when I walked into the Valley Bank branch at 2001 N. Main in Longmont and found that they’d given a portion of their space to their new neighbor, The Colorado Cupboard.

Just inside the door, I found all sorts of Colorado-made food and gift products. An office had been converted to store space, and a desk was the checkout area. The Colorado Cupboard was ready to open, but space wasn’t. Construction next door was still in progress, so the bank offered to let the cupboard folks move in.

By the time you read this, The Colorado Cupboard should be in its own space and fully stocked. I’ll stop back in and let you know what I find, or stop in and see for yourself.

And that’s what it’s all about.

Twin Lakes Goes To The Dogs

By Claire Chase

Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) heard the Twin Lakes open space management plan as presented by Parks and Open Space (POS) staff members, Rich Koopman and Tina Nielsen on Oct. 28. Staff recommended that one lake remain off-leash for dogs and that the other lake be designated as a leash required (or on-leash) area for dogs.

Historically, there has not been a leash requirement at the lakes. It was not until Boulder County purchased the 42-acre property as open space in 2002 that a leash requirement was addressed.

In April 2002, pending the recommendations of a neighborhood advisory group, POS and the county commissioners adopted an interim management plan which kept the status quo. Twin Lakes Advisory Group (TLAG) was formed from a group of residents in the Twin Lakes area whose viewpoints on-leash requirements and usage of the lakes differed.

The county commissioners and POSAC enlisted the help of TLAG to hear from people who actually use the lakes to achieve a harmonious environment for residents, pets and wildlife.

TLAG members met six times in 2003 and, according to Tina Nielsen, “had a strong sense of common ground even though they had differing opinions when they came into it. They were in unanimous agreement that one lake be on-leash and one lake be off.”

Nielsen thanked TLAG and emphasized the importance of community input in open space management as well as participation in public process.

When it came to deciding which lake should be off-leash, TLAG deferred to POS staff to make the choice based on lake characteristics, wildlife habitat values, adjacent land uses and recreational access and use patterns.

POS staff recommended that the west lake be the off-leash lake, but reported that the process by which the decision was made “was not an exact science.”

At the October meeting, POSAC members questioned staff, listened to public input regarding the management plan and concluded that the west lake might not be the best choice for off-leash designation. They voted eight to one to recommend adoption of the Twin Lake Management Plan by county commissioners and suggested that the commissioners revisit which lake should ultimately be designated off-leash.

Final approval by county commissioners was given on Nov. 30. They voted to adopt the Twin Lakes Management Plan, including the recommendation of staff to designate the east lake as on-leash. In addition, they supported several recommendations from the Boulder County Nature Association regarding surveys, studies and signage.

According to Nielsen, “In their comments, (county commissioners) emphasized that an off leash area is a new policy for the county, providing an opportunity for the neighborhood to work in partnership with the POS staff to meet the neighborhood’s desires and wildlife habitat protection goals of the county.

“We will be installing fencing and signage to delineate the dog management areas in 2005. During this time, we will be working to let users know of the upcoming changes. Enforcement of the leash area around the east lake will begin after the infrastructure is in place, most likely in 2006,” added Nielsen.

For information on what is happening in Boulder County government go to www.co.boulder.co.us

Cougars FB Season Ends At Final 4

By Bruce Warren

Niwot set its sights on the 3A state football championship when the season began, but the quest ended just short of the title game when the Cougars lost to Rifle 23-20 in the semi-finals.

Head coach Ron Tesone noted how hard it is to win a championship. “I’ve seen my dad go through this,” he said, speaking of his father, Fred Tesone, who won several state titles at Cherry Creek when Ron was growing up.

“We had a great bunch of seniors,” Tesone continued. “Most of them got all-area and all-county.” Indeed, the Cougars netted more individual honors than any team in memory, led by CU recruit Jeremy Hauck and Clint Stapp, who were both named to the All-State Game, scheduled for June 11, where Tesone will be an assistant coach for the North squad.

Hauck, at 6’6” and 265 pounds, was named All-Colorado by the Rocky Mountain News, a team selected from all classes. In picking Hauck for the offensive line, the News said, “He’s All-Colorado because . . . Hauck could have found a position on the All-Colorado team on either side of the ball. Coaches praised his tenacious attitude and athletic ability, noting this all-Tri-Valley League selection was a splendid blocker in run or pass situations. Defensively, he compiled 84 tackles, which included eight sacks, while leading the Cougars into the 3A state semifinals and to a 12-1 record.”

Stapp, a quarterback, was named Offensive Player of the Year in Class 3A by the News. He was joined on the News’ 3A All-State Team by Aaron Watson at wide receiver, Hauck at defensive line, and Thomas Bauer at linebacker. Sean Ratliff was named to the second team at punter. Honorable mention included running back-linebackers Matt Braman and Matt Hendrick.

The Tri-Valley League All-Conference team included nine Cougars: Stapp (QB), Hauck (OT), Watson (WR) and center Grant Overs on offense; Ratliff (S), Bauer (LB), Braman (LB), Hendrick (LB) and cornerback Jesse Stubbs on defense.

Honorable mention All-Conference included wide receiver Robbie Fowler, running back Paul Dixon, offensive tackle Chris Maxon, defensive tackle Gabe Martinez, cornerback Nathan Dorzweiler, safety Cody Buck, noseguard La’Marr West, offensive guard Dave Tedrow, kicker Tom Tudor and utility player Colin Burns. Tesone explained that Burns was picked for his work as an all-purpose player, including running back, safety and special teams player.

Following the season, the Niwot coaches handed out several team awards. Stapp and Braman were selected as Co-Offensive MVP’s. Braman was picked as Outstanding Offensive Back for his play at multiple positions. Overs was selected as Outstanding Offensive Lineman for his work at center. Watson was named Outstanding Receiver for his play as wide receiver.

On defense, Bauer was named Defensive MVP. Hauck was picked as Outstanding Defensive Lineman for his play at defensive tackle. Hendrick was chosen as Outstanding Linebacker for his play behind the line. Ratliff was selected as Outstanding Defensive Back for his play at safety.

Fowler was picked as Outstanding Special Teams player for his effort and leadership on kickoff, kick return and punting teams. “He made all the plays,” Tesone noted. The coaches also presented the Iron Man Award to Maxon and Stubbs for their dedication to work in the weight room. Bauer and Stubbs were also recognized for the 70 Club Award. The award recognizes players who score 70 points or more on the SAC test, a pre-season conditioning evaluation. “It measures a variety of skills, including the 40 yard dash and vertical jump. I stole it from my dad, and revised it,” Tesone joked.

Thirteen of the nineteen players garnering post-season honors are seniors. With so many graduating, Tesone noted that he will have several holes to fill. “We’ll be competitive next year,” he said. “A lot of the younger players saw a lot of second-half action in games, so that should help them.”